President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attends the annual dialogue between leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) held in the form of videoconference on November 11, 2021. (Photo: VNA)

The two-day APEC CEO Summit, which closed on Friday, is an important activity of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting. Reeling from a global pandemic, APEC continued to affirm its role as a key forum on economic cooperation and linkage, promoting regional and global growth.

Join, Work, Grow. Together 

Adopting a vision of an open, dynamic, and resilient Asia-Pacific community by 2040, the leaders set out major directions for APEC cooperation in the next two decades. Their three main priorities include: First, economic policy, trade, macroeconomic measures, structural reform, free and open trade and investment, trade facilitation and connectivity; second, sustainability and inclusion, inclusive and sustainable recovery, and supporting vulnerable populations; and third, creativity and digitalization, and green technology.

Vietnam proposes orientations to promote sustainable business

Since joining APEC in late 1998, Vietnam has responsibly promoted cooperation and contributed to APEC's agenda. In 2021 Vietnam played a key role in building the APEC Vision 2040 and is participating in the development of a Plan to effectively realize this vision. Vietnam is one of the leading economies calling for equal access to vaccines. It has made strong commitments and taken specific actions in APEC cooperation to respond to climate change.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the APEC CEO Summit:“Toward the APEC Vision 2040, APEC leaders are uniting, bridging all differences, taking the lead in efforts for faster and stronger cooperation to address challenges and risks, and preserve the living environment for sustainable development. Responding to climate change is a shared responsibility of all economies, requiring effective collaborative efforts, innovation, increased resources, new technologies and capacity building for developing countries.”

At this Summit, the President proposed that each enterprise should have a plan and roadmap to cut emissions according to national standards; APEC should invest in the future by focusing on clean energy projects and developing new technologies; and APEC should develop a "Guideline to promote APEC sustainable business," with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

President Phuc said the State, businesses, and people of Vietnam clearly understand the intertwined risks and opportunities and pledge to take drastic action to shift the economic model to green growth and comprehensively respond to climate change. In this process, Vietnam wants to further strengthen cooperation with APEC members and domestic and international enterprises.

He said:“In addition to continuing to improve the business investment environment, Vietnam has developed mechanisms and policies to support green and innovative businesses, eco-industrial parks, and so on. Vietnam’s strong incentives plus a market of 100 million people and the 14 free trade agreements Vietnam has joined will create opportunities and favorable conditions for international investors to come to Vietnam to cooperate, share benefits, and develop sustainably.”

Vietnam believes that the pandemic is a good opportunity for businesses to boldly restructure their operations, improve their competitiveness, and do sustainable and inclusive business. As an APEC member economy, Vietnam is committed to efforts to cut emissions, increase investment in renewable energy, apply new technologies, and form green production and supply chains for an Asian region of peace, sustainable development, and prosperity.